Tex. & Pac. R'y Co. v. Anderson
Tex. & Pac. R'y Co. v. Anderson
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
§ 203. Damages; proximate and remote; general rule as to. “ A long series of judicial decisions, in actions for negligence, has defined proximate and direct damages to be the ordinary and natural results of the negligence, such as are usual, and as therefore might have been ex
§ 204. Public road; estoppel. Where a railroad company had for several years recognized and maintained a road crossing over its line of railway, as a crossing for the public, it was held to be estopped from setting up as a defense that the road was not a public road. Under these circumstances, the road will be considered a public road within the meaning of the statute upon this subject. [E. S. art. 4232, as amended by act of 18th Leg., Pamphlet Laws, p. 28; W. & W. Con. Rep. §§ 81, 862.]
§ 205. Signals; failure to give is negligence per se. It is incumbent upon those operating railroad trains to ring the bell, or blow the whistle upon approaching, with a train, a crossing of a public road, and a failure to do so is negligence per se. [R. R. Co. v. Wilson, 60 Tex. 142; W. & W. Con. Rep. § 860.]
§ 206. Negligence; liability for, of railroad company, in approaching a road crossing. Independently of the statute, the railroad company is liable for negligence in approaching its trains to a public road crossing. It is as clearly the duty of a railroad company, as it is of a natural person, to exercise its rights with a considerate and prudent regard for the rights and safety of others. It is no excuse or justification that the act occasioning the injury was in itself lawful, or that it was done in the exercise of a lawful right, if the injury arose from the negligent manner in which it was done. If danger to the person or property of others, at any point, may be reasonably apprehended, or is likely to result from tho running of trains without notice, it is the duty of the company to give notice, although there be no provision of the statute requiring it. [R. R. Co. v. Barnett, 59 Pa. St. 259; Thomp. on Neg. 1239.]
§ 207. Contributory negligence; rules as to persons approaching a crossing. Our statute does not require of those approaching a public railroad crossing to stop and
§ 208. Same; burden of proof of; insufficient evidence of. Negligence will not be presumed, but must be proved, and the onus of proving it rests upon the party affirming it. [W. & W. Con. Rep. § 370.] In this case the evidence failed to establish contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff. It was shown that, owing to obstructions arising from the topography of the locality, he could not have seen the approaching train, and it was not shown that he could have heard it, nor was it shown that in any way he neglected to use reasonable caution and prudence in approaching the crossing.
§ 209. Negligence; is a question for the jury to determine. Negligence is always a question for the jury to determine, when there is any doubt as to the facts, or as to the inferences to be drawn from them. [2 Thomp. on Neg. 1239.]
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.